impoverished

Having become very poor and lacking money for basic needs.

• The war left many families impoverished.
• Aid reached the most impoverished villages.
• She grew up in an impoverished household.

Similar words: poor, destitute, penniless

Opposites: wealthy, rich

Common phrases: impoverished families, impoverished communities, impoverished country

Lacking the variety, quality, or strength needed to be good or healthy.

• Crops grow poorly in impoverished soil.
• An impoverished diet affected the children's health.
• The film presents an impoverished view of human relationships.

Similar words: poor, deficient

Opposites: rich

Common phrases: impoverished soil, impoverished culture, impoverished diet

Having lost useful parts or features, so that fewer remain.

• The language has an impoverished inflectional system.
• Repeated filtering left the sample impoverished of minerals.
• Their simplified model contains an impoverished set of features.

How to use it: impoverished of something (The soil was impoverished of essential minerals.)

Similar words: depleted, reduced

Opposites: enriched

Common phrases: impoverished inflectional system, impoverished of something, impoverished structure

Containing only a small number of different kinds of animals or plants.

• The island has an impoverished fauna.
• Researchers found an impoverished fossil assemblage in this layer.
• The polluted stream supports an impoverished community of aquatic species.

Similar words: species-poor

Opposites: species-rich

Common phrases: impoverished fauna, impoverished flora, impoverished fossil assemblage